Forced
by lollyadams4894
Summary: Zane and Jo are stuck in a lab together when GD goes on lockdown due to escape of an airborne chemical that prevents the brain from lying. What could go wrong...?
1. Panic

_A/N – this story is from Zane's perspective. I occurs after the events of 'I'll be seeing you'. I recommend that you read my previous story – which is a collection of one shots that look into Zane's mind – which help show my ideas of how he ticks, it's not necessary to read these, but it helps add a little more depth to this story. My plot for this is still quite flexible – therefore I am open to new ideas if you have any. I am looking for a beta if you're interested; just post it in a review._

_I don't own Eureka or any of its characters – therefore no copyright infringement intended._

CHAPTER ONE – IN A MOMENT OF PANIC

The bed covers were splayed around them. He kept his eyes closed, yet the light from the morning sun danced behind his eyelids. He could feel her body wrapped up in his arms. Her soft, warm skin pressed against his. He nuzzled into her neck. He sighed in content and could smell her familiar scent – gunpowder and roses. His breathing caused the soft locks of her hair to tickle his face. He smiled into her hair and shifted closer. Held her tighter, as if she might disappear at any given moment. Everything was perfect…

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP….

The alarm on his phone startled him awake. He was sat upright on a chair in front of his desk. He had fallen asleep at work – again.

"Damn it!"

He shifted his arm off his desk – red-marked and numb from having slept on it – and grabbed his phone from his jeans pocket and turned off the alarm before looking at the time. Great. He had been asleep for nearly 3 hours, and had slept through two previous alarms.

He had started setting alarms every hour since that night in the sheriff's office where he kissed Jo, because ever since then she had starred in his dreams. Some dreams were a little steamy, some just typical days, these ones didn't bother him, he actually enjoyed them. No, it was the other dreams that disturbed him – the ones where she vanished or died… These dreams would wake him with sweats in the middle of the night – preventing him from further sleep, that is, until he got to work. But the annoying thing was he knew what caused these disturbing dreams – It was not seeing her through the course of the day, which occurred frequently considering the fact that she was avoiding him constantly.

He leaned back in his chair and stretched away his tiredness. He was trying to think of different ways to corner her so that he could talk to her, to get her to stop hiding from him – maybe he could let out a few other monkeys, change the frequency of a harmless invention – it had to be something that literally screamed 'Zane' when looked at… or maybe he could find a way to get a tracker on her so that he could-

"Zane!"

He stopped mid thought. He recognised the sound of that particular voice within a heart-beat. _What the hell?_ Wasn't she supposed to be avoiding him? He quickly spun his chair around to face the door she had managed to sneak through without his knowledge – boy did she have _Ninja skills_! He looked up at the one named Jo Lupo, looked her up and liked what he saw, then gave her his best smirk.

"Oh I see. You've finished avoiding me now. Does this mean hell has frozen over?" It came out harsher than intended, but he wasn't in the mood. He was sleep deprived and he couldn't help but blame it on her a little.

The sudden look of sadness that washed over her face knocked him breathless. He had done that to her. He had hurt her that much in so few careless words. He immediately regretted what he said.

She stammered to find her words, but when she spoke them, they were full of authority.

"I was watching the security footage and saw that you had been slacking off. You had been sleeping during work – and that's not accep-"

She was cut off by the flashing red lights - that and the message that was playing on loop throughout the room.

"Warning. Global Dynamics is on system lockdown. Please remain where you are."

In a moment of panic she darted toward the door in a desperate attempted at escape, but was stopped in her tracks when glass walls and the door were quickly shut off by titanium shields…

_A/N – So? Please give me your opinions in reviews. Criticism is welcomed and highly appreciated. And again if you have any ideas for a plot line they will all be helpful. And thanks for reading! :D_


	2. Instinct

_A/N Here is my 2__nd__ chapter, sorry it took so long, I've been busy with college work, so I haven't had much time to do anything. This chapter is the way it is thanks to my shiny new beta: PchefBeth._

_Thanks to all of those who reviewed and favourited this story, and put me and my story on their alerts list, there are too many for me to name, but you all know who you are. :D_

_An as usual I don't own Eureka or its characters, but if I won the lottery they would be the first thing I buy._

_If you like this chapter then, pretty please review x_

CHAPTER TWO – INSTINCT

_In a moment of panic she darted toward the door in a desperate attempted at escape, but was stopped in her tracks when the glass walls and the door were quickly shut off by titanium shields…_

The message had ended, yet the room was still flashing red from the lights.

He stood, watching her as she scanned the shield, and analyzed her motions .She had her back to him, and at first she didn't move but then a flicker of movement at her sides caused him to lower his gaze. Her hands curled into small fists before relaxing again as she pivoted round and faced him, now cool and collected – but he could still detect a hint of annoyance among her features.

"Look, before you say a word; I didn't do _anything_!" he raised his hands in mock surrender. Was that a _smile_ he just saw quickly cross her face? If it was, it was gone as soon as it appeared.

"I believe you. You were sleeping after all." He felt a guilty grin form his lips "But I do need to find out what _is_ going on." She pulled out her phone from her left pocket and brought it to her ear.

"I wouldn't bother even trying with that; I designed this system lock-down, phone signals won't pass through the shields." he informed her, pointing to the now sealed-off door.

"Why the hell would you design it like that?" He watched as she slid her phone back into her pocket and continued without waiting for an answer. "Actually that doesn't matter; right now this situation takes priority. Is there any way you can hack into the security system and override the shutdown to let us out?"

"I'm afraid not. This computer isn't designed to override a network on a mass scale such as the security lockdown" He watched as her face fell a little, it made him want to help as much as possible. "On the other hand, I can hack in and find out who authorised it."

"Great. Do that then."

"Why JoJo, are you actually asking me to break sixteen federal laws?" He teased. She blushed a little. He turned around to face his computer and began typing. In the corner of his eye he could see her still standing by the door. "Come sit down JoJo." He gestured toward the chair next to him "I won't bite… not yet anyway." Regardless of his teasing she came and sat down next to him and watched him as he typed. He put on a fake face of concentration in an attempt to make it seem as though he had never hacked into security before, but in truth he had done it so many times before that he could practically do it blindfolded. So instead he kept his eyes on Lupo. She didn't seem at all fazed that he was breaking her beloved rules, if anything she seemed engrossed in what he was doing on the screen. He filed away this odd behaviour for future reference. She tilted her head and caught his gaze, and she shifted uncomfortably, behaviour such as this showed that she too could feel the electricity between them. Embarrassed at getting caught, he turned back to the screen and continued with his work. After the few moments that it took to hack in – which he purposefully drew out longer – he had finally found what he was looking for and faced her. "According to the data here; only two people are authorised to set off a full scale lockdown."

"And who are they?" once again she was calm, and he disliked it immensely, the one trait she owned that he had never liked. He thought back to the many times he had tried to make Jo Lupo crack without any success, and here she was, in probably one of the most difficult situations she would ever be in emotionally – and still she is all business. Well two can play at that game…

"Well one is you, and the other is Fargo."

"So Fargo did this?" Annoyance rang clear in her words. Well maybe she doesn't respect him as much as he initially thought. He turned back to the screen to check see if their suspicions were correct.

"Actually I don't think it was, his security code wasn't used. But neither was yours."

"How is that?"

"Well, from what I understand the security system itself fired up the lockdown. Which means it detected a risk and it won't go down until it has found the source of the risk and quarantined it"

"How long will that take?"

"It has just finished scanning the air in all the labs for foreign particles or compounds in section one, now it will start scan the rest of the room to ensure that there are no unknown life forms in each lab before it removes the shields. It will then continue in the same pattern for each section. We are currently in section four; therefore it should take roughly twenty minutes."He turned to look back at her. She didn't seem pleased at having to spend 20 minutes alone with him. "Come on JoJo. Is it really that awful to be stuck in a room with yours truly?" His words here teasing, yet he meant every one of them. He didn't miss the slight nod from her head. It hurt him to know that that's how she felt.

He gave himself a mental kick. This wasn't how this was supposed to happen. They were trapped alone in his lab for crying-out-loud! He was supposed to take control over this situation. He gave himself a much needed nudge and spoke first after the long moments of silence between the two.

"Seeing as such a wonderful opportunity has arose, I think we can finally talk." Her eyes flickered to the door. "I saw that. And unless you plan to claw your way out of here with your bare hands; I'm afraid you're stuck in here."The expression she gave showed him that she might actually be seriously contemplating doing exactly that – it was as though her capability actually extended that far, and _damn_ he thought it was hot! She stiffened in her chair and then straightened in defence. He swivelled his chair a little to face her better, in doing so his leg brushed against hers. He must have hit a nerve because next thing he knew she was stood in front of the door, watching him cautiously.

"I don't know what you're talking about." The ease with which she could lie and hide her emotions annoyed him to his very core. This was getting _old_!

"You know exactly what I'm talking about!"He realized he was shouting at her, so he lowered his voce and spoke his next words more softly. "Look, I know that there is something going on that you're not telling me, and not just between us, but that's where this conversation is going. Whether you like it or not." She stared down. He thought it looked as though she were praying for the floor to suddenly swallow her whole – actually, he might not be that far off base. He took her silence as an opportunity to close the distance between them. Here was his chance, his was gonna take it.

"Zane…" she murmured raising her head. Her eyes lingered on his broad chest for a moment before continuing up to meet with his. Only just noticing the lack of space between them; she took a step back, pressing her back against the shields. He took a step closer - trapping her further.

"Just answer this one question for me. Did I ever have a chance?" He didn't let her answer; instead he leaned in and captured her lips with his and she immediately responded.

It was gentle at first. Their lips moving in an elegant dance. He placed his hands at the small of her back. Pulling her closer. He breathed in her familiar scent, it sent him crazy, and suddenly he was no longer in control. He was acting on pure instinct. Apparently so was she. Their passions ignited as their lips became urgent and demanding. Tongues intertwined. Her skin burned his like a flame – setting all his nerve endings ablaze. Her hands weaved around his neck - pulling herself closer. She brushed her hand across the nape of his neck leaving a trail of goose bumps at her scolding touch. He roughly pushed her up against the wall – successfully causing her to moan. Sensation rippled through him. A set of fingers knotted themselves in his hair before pulling at it. He groaned and pressed himself even closer – if that were possible. His lips ran down to her neck. Her free hand gripped at his shoulder. She threw he head back, giving him better access. He gently nipped at her neck – pulling another soft moan from her lips. She pressed her hips into his…

"Erm… Jo…?" came a voice through the intercom.

They broke apart instantly. He felt the immediate loss and cursed himself under his breath for loosing so much control. No woman had ever made him loose control before, but he liked it, he _craved_ it. He watched her closely - watched the rise and fall of her chest as she took in deep steadying breaths, collecting some of the much needed oxygen that he had stolen. A dark part of him enjoyed the fact that he could affect her to such a degree. He realized that he too, was in the same laboured-breathing state she was when he answered.

"What the hell? Carter?"

_A/N- Hehe, I like this end for my chapter, and you probably won't get the next chapter until next week – unless you can convince me why I should be kind enough to post earlier…_


	3. Camera

_A/N Sorry this has taken me so long to upload - I've been really busy, and i rewrote this like chapter several times to try and make it more interesting because initially not much happened during it, but hey now im happy with it!_

_As for all you lovely people who reviewed - THANKS, i really appreciate it, and this chapter was edited by my wonderful beta Pchefbeth_

_As for owning Eureka - i do not, because if i did Zane and Jo would be married by now!_

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CHAPTER THREE – CAMERA

"_What the hell? Carter"_

Zane spun around in search of the camera before halting when he found it on the other side of the room. He walked up to it to get a better view, but he kept an eye on Jo; she was leaning heavily against the wall for support, as if she would fall over without it, watching her made him feel just as dizzy. Carter sounded relieved when he answered

"Oh, thank God! You two can finally hear me! I'm glad that I didn't have to switch of the screen because of the direction your erm… discussion… was going." He could tell that Carter was trying to not mention the elephant in the room, and was failing miserably. He heard Jo's heels hit the floor as she moved to stand next to him, whilst keeping a safe distance. The tension between the two of them was almost tangible.

"Carter, what are you doing in my office?" Jo asked confused "What is going on?"

Zane recognized the effort it took for her to try and keep her voice level, but the slight waver in her words did not escape his attention. She was far too tense; and it made him feel dizzier.

"Jo? Jo, I can't hear you, no sound is coming through." Carter continued.

"Just great!" she sighed. He knew she was starting to recover, but her emotions weren't quite in-check just yet and he was surprised at the large effect he had on her – maybe he had always had such an effect on her… Ignoring that for the moment he walked round his desk and picked up his data-pad and worked at fixing the sound.

"Can you hear us now Carter?" He asked. It didn't escape his notice as Jo shifted to place her hand on the desk and attempted to inconspicuously lean against it for more support. Apparently she still hadn't recovered, but then again, neither had he. Part of his mind registered Carters reply confirming that the sound was fixed, but all he could feel was annoyance toward him, annoyance to the fact that he had interrupted them. For days he had been trying to corner Jo with no success, and then a perfect opportunity presented itself and Carter had to go and ruin it! He was so close to the answers he needed, so close to completing an unsolvable puzzle, so close to having Josephina Lupo finally admit her feelings toward him, so close to having her…

He allowed himself to entertain that fleeting thought for just a few moments, let himself remember the dream he had earlier: their bare legs tangled amidst the bed sheets, her soft, warm skin pressed against his as she slept soundly encircled by his arms. He gave himself permission to believe for just a short while that if he played his cards right, maybe, just maybe, it could happen… He gave up on that train of thought as soon as he heard Jo speak up, because he couldn't wrap his head around the idea that he could ever deserve her.

"Carter, what's happening?"

"I don't know yet. I was on my way to see you about some paperwork on Dr Kings. When I got to your office you weren't here and I was leaving a file for you. I was just leaving when I got trapped in here."

That captured Zane's interest. So he turned to Jo and questioned her about it.

"Who is Dr Kings?" She turned to face him with an exasperated look on her face, but he continued. "I don't think I've heard of him before." This was saying something because he had background records on everyone who worked at GD, except for Jo…

"_She_ is a Doctor in the cognitive development in humans and she specializes in speech and the ability of lying. She only just arrived at GD at the end of last week"

Well that explains why he didn't know who she was; he hadn't had the time these past couple of weeks to keep on top of GD personal.

She turned back to the camera and continued.

"What about Dr Kings' paperwork?"

"I'd rather not say, not at the moment." Carter replied. Jo glanced Zane's way and he decided he wanted to get back to the matter at hand.

"Look I understand that you need to sort out this 'paperwork' but I think that can wait a little while whilst we figure out what's going on, because now I know that someone is in your office – it is possible for me to latch on to the security feeds, allowing us to access the live footage of all the rooms in the building on this data-pad." He looked toward the camera once more "Carter you are going to receive a message on the screen telling you that the security feed's defenses have been taken down, I need you to hit ignore."

"Got it."

He turned back to Jo. "This will only work if you put in your password to give me access to your computer." He held out the tablet in his hand and she took it, whilst clearly trying to prevent any contact between their fingers, and she typed in the ten digit word.

His mind flashed back to last year when they had been in a similar situation where she had to use his computer to input her password. He had previously added software to link and log every piece of information from his computer onto his data-pad, passwords included, and as a hacker at heart he had used this knowledge to his full advantage and had obtained a copy of her personal file. When she found out, as she always did, he'd ended up with a black eye that lasted for weeks, a shot from the taser and two solid weeks in Carters cell, and he hadn't even been able to bring himself to open the stupid file.

He was brought back to the present by the beep that came from his computer, so he leaned in to check the new information on the screen.

"What was that?" Jo questioned him as she placed the pad on the desk next to him before also leaning in to examine the screen. The sensation of her warm breath on his neck was intoxicating. The proximity was making the room spin faster than it had been before.

"The scan has just completed searching section one and all the offices on the same floor – including yours – there were no risks found in that area, so the shields should be down for them in just a moment." They could hear the sliding movement of the doors opening coming through the intercom.

"Yeah, Zane, the door just opened up, I'm gonna go find Fargo, Henry and Alison. I'll be back when I find out what's going on." A scurry of shoes was the last thing they heard from Carter.

Zane picked up the tablet and brought up all the security footage and began scanning through it, searching for anything out of the ordinary that could explain the level three lockdown. Room by room he checked, and found nothing. Then he got to his own lab, and he could see himself and Jo – now on the other side of the room - standing awkwardly, his eyes flickered toward her as she paced the small distance across his lab mumbling incoherent words under her breath. He looked back at the tablet and was reminded of the cheesy romance movies his mum _forced_ him to watch when he was young and he suddenly felt self consciousness wash over him, he quickly flicked over to the next lab and froze at the horror he was now witnessing.

"Jo, I think I just found the problem…"

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_A/N - Aren't i meen leaving a clif-fhanger like that - well i have a better idea of how the next chapter is going to go so it shouldn't take me nearly as long to update as it did this one - hope you leave a review! :D_


	4. Exposed

_A/N - I know it's been a while since I last updated, but you will be glad to know that I have written up the next two chapters - they just need editing, and drafted the ch 7, 8 and 9 - but be warned they may take a while to write up because I hurt my wrist._

_Thanks to all of you who reviewed my last chapter - you all give me the motivation to write this story. And again thanks to Pchefbeth, who has done a wonerful job of a beta._

_If I owned Eureka there would be no end to the season - and I would have made the christmas episode with more Jo and Zane, but you gotta love the santa t-shirt._

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CHAPTER FOUR – EXPOSED

"_Jo, I think I just found the problem…"_

Zane lifted his head just in time to see Jo, who was mid-pace, sway in her step. He instinctively dropped his data-pad on his desk with a clank and ran over just in time to catch her elbow, successfully preventing her from falling over.

"Jo? Are you okay?" He asked, his voice reflecting the concern he was feeling for her. Something was really wrong; Jo Lupo who was head of GD security, who packed more heat than a gun store, who was the woman who could kill you with her pinkie alone, was currently _off-balance_! She looked up from the ground and scowled at his face before ripping her arm from his hand.

"I'm fine!" she snapped. She was still swaying slightly, but managed to stay upright without his help.

"Josefina, you are not '_fine_'." He told her, and unthinkingly he placed his hand on her shoulder, he saw her as she eyed it and he expected her to move it whilst causing him the most physical pain she could, but instead she took a deep breath and just left it there.

"Look, could you please just tell me what you found," she asked still staring at his hand on her shoulder.

He figured that there was no point in trying to push her to admit that she wasn't herself, so he let it go and dropping his hand, walked back over to his desk and pick up the data pad. He sat down in his chair to make sure that his own dizziness didn't get the better of him. As he suspected he would, he heard her footsteps click on the hard floor behind him as she followed him to his desk.

"I will; as soon as you tell me a little more about Dr Kings," he said as he turned to face her.

"What has this got anything to do with Dr Kings?" She asked, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion. He couldn't help but think that the expression made her look cute, and he struggled to focus on what he needed to show her.

"I'm not entirely sure yet," he said as he tried to focus on what he needed to tell her "That's why I'm asking you about her." He watched her as she wavered in her place before she regained balance once more. "And please sit down, _before_ you fall over." He was surprised to see that she actually complied, and his worry grew as he saw how pale she was.

"What do you want to know," she asked.

"The lab next to this one, is it hers?"

"Yes…" she replied just as confused as before.

"You said that she was working on cognitive development in conjunction with the brains ability to lie do you know if her research was in involved hormones?"

"Yeah, I think so. She was identified for a transfer to Eureka because her research in the field was leading towards the possibility of a chemical injection that would prevent a person's brain from lying. At least that's how Fargo explained it. But I don't think she was anywhere near the testing stage."

"Well if that's true, then I think her formula worked by changing the chemical messages sent across the synapses between the nerves in the brain – if that formula was even slightly off, it could affect the entire nervous system," At Jo's perplexed look he continued. "It could alter the complete distribution of hormones throughout the entire body, resulting in an uncontrollable rampage of emotions."

He looked back down at the tablet in his hands, and watched as a woman, presumably Dr Kings, continued to destroy everything in the lab, throwing green filled beakers across the room, smashing chemicals everywhere, purple smoke would rise whilst mixed acids would corrode the reinforced, concrete and steel floors. He recognised most of the chemicals – and some of them were extremely dangerous if not handled correctly. His focus kept coming back to the corner of her lab where he could see the body of a man - most likely a lab assistant – laying in a pool of dark red that originated from the back of his head. His eyes were open, but he wasn't blinking, and didn't appear to be breathing. His face and clothes was smeared in the bloody substance.

Zane?" he heard Jo asked, breaking the silence in the room when he didn't say anything further.

"Take a look at this." He said as he started to hand her the pad but pulled it back when she went to grab it because he realised her hands were shaking, and placed it on his desk instead. "JoJo, please tell me that you are shaking because of my expert kissing skills…" he asked mockingly, trying to hide the fact that he feared that the truth was actually much worse.

Although he hated to admit it; he knew that she had been exposed – which means he probably had as well. He tried to piece together a theory as to how it had happened. Dr. Kings' formula had most likely spilled, and contaminated the air causing the system shut down, but the close proximity of his lab and hers had most likely resulted in his and Jo's exposure. To top it off, the structure of the formula would have been altered due to the concoction of smashed chemicals in the next lab over – meaning that he had no idea how it was going to affect Jo and himself.

He grabbed her hands in his in an attempt to hold them still, she was cold – really cold. He looked down at their hands to see the frailty of her hands in his. He looked down at their interwoven hands and was surprised to see how large his were compared to hers. Her grip seemed light, frail even to him, and he looked back up her. He was surprised to see that she too was analysing their hands with extreme interest. He removed one of his hands so that he could lift her chin and look into her eyes.

"Why are y-you…" she stuttered but continued anyway. "Why are you pretending to care so much?"

"I'm not pretending. I do actually care about some things, even about you, especially about you. My heart isn't completely made of coal you know." He was surprised to hear the words coming out of his mouth. He couldn't believe he was actually admitting this to her, admitting this to _himself_, after all these years that he didn't spend all of his time winding her up just because he could, he did it because he was trying to hide the fact that he cared for her, the fact that he _really_ cared for her.

He watched her as his words sunk in, her eyes glazed over, unfocusing, and she held an expression that was of pure shock. She gently pulled her hands from his and stood up. In reaction he also stood up, so that he could continue to watch her. Life flickered in her eyes, and she pulled her arm back and let it snap forward; slapping him in the face!

It wasn't a hard slap, but it held enough force to express what she intended it to. It stung, and his shocked mind couldn't come to an appropriate response. She had hit him before, but she had never _slapped_ him! He was as still as a statue, and so was she; time seemed to have had stopped for both of them.

When he had managed to get his brain working again after the long, still moments, he moved his hand to rub his sore cheek. The movement woke her like an alarm and she rushed forward, crashing into him as her lips found his in an instant, forcing his apart and he could taste her sweet, minty breath. Her hands wrapped around his neck pulling him further down to her. His hands found themselves situated at her waist, gripping tightly. He couldn't stop himself; he needed her like air. She was a drug, and he needed his next fix. He brought one hand to her hair and pulled out the restricting band – letting her hair cascade down her back. Her lips where forceful on his and he could feel all of her bottled-up emotions spill into him; her joy, her sadness, her love of life, and her hatred of loss – it was all there, sinking into him. They weren't just two people kissing; they were two halves becoming a whole, melting into one another. It wasn't passion that drove them this time; it was need, a need that ran deep within their very cores. A need that could not be controlled.

He reluctantly pulled back as his mind connected the fact that most likely the chemicals that they had been exposed to were causing her reaction, but he could not bring himself to let her go, so he stood there gasping for air all the while keeping a firm grip around her. He looked down into her eyes questioningly, and could see that she did not yet regret what she just did. She rested her head against his shoulder and turned her face into his neck. Her arms slid down to rest on his chest - trapped between their pressing bodies. He buried his face deep into her loose hair and breathed in deeply. He heard her as she began to sob against his shoulder and suddenly felt the need to protect her – which under normal circumstances it would be acceptable for a man to feel protective over a woman, but these weren't normal circumstances, and she wasn't just an ordinary woman, making the whole idea of Jo needing protection completely and utterly ludicrous, but he could not think otherwise. Feeling uncharacteristically tender he then rubbed his hand along the length of her spine in a soothing rhythm and just held her there and let her tears stain his shirt.

"I miss you…" she mumbled into his shoulder, and he simply held her tighter…

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I will update again this week - I promise, but I do have alot of revision to do over these two weeks for my exams in January - so please review and get me through this boring time :D

Oh and i don't know how this challenge thing works, but I found out that the episode 'This one time at space camp...' has a character list of Jo's dad, young Parish, young Jo and young Zane, (my source was IMDB . com) and I would like to see peoples ideas as to how this episode could go...


	5. Glow

_A/N - Another chapter, and soon to be more_

_Again thank you to, well, everyone! reviews are appreciated and the help I get from Pchefbeth is loved!_

_I may not own the lovely Eureka, but i do take full credit for the character of Dr Kings :D_

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CHAPTER FIVE – GLOW

"_I miss you…" she mumbled into his shoulder, and he simply held her tighter…_

He sat on the floor, his back against the wall and his legs splayed out in front of him. Jo had finally fallen asleep, her sobs finally becoming silent before exhaustion took over, and her head now lay in his lap. Her hands still gripped his t-shirt in her sleep and her rhythmic breathing was the only sound in the quiet room. He ran his fingers through the soft locks of her dark hair, the strands glittering in the flashing red security lights of the room. He'd dimmed the other lights after she had finally succumbed to sleep, and he'd cut the security feed into the room. He hadn't wanted anyone to see her like this. He was surprised by how intensely he felt the needs to protect her.

He had rigged the data-pad that currently rested in his free hand to communicate instead of the intercom - because that would wake Jo – but he hadn't spoken to Carter for a while. The last he heard Carter had found Alison and Fargo, and they were all now completely aware of what was happening. They were looking to involve Henry, while Fargo tried to keep GD under control amid the mass panic. So far they had been able to free sections two, three and five, but Section 4 where his lab was located was still in lockdown mode.

He sighed and rested his head back against the wall. He still couldn't understand why he wasn't as affected as Jo was. He did feel a little out of it, but nothing to the degree that she was.

As though she was aware of his thoughts, Jo became restless and began moving around as though she couldn't get comfortable. At first he thought she had woken up so he removed the hand that had been brushing her hair, but as she turned her head he saw that her eyes were still squeezed shut. He gathered her more closely against him and she grew still in his arms, her breathing still shakier than it had been before. She didn't feel as cold as before, but he figured that it was just because he was colder now too because his own symptoms were growing stronger. He saw a lone tear escape the threshold of her eyelashes, so he placed his data-pad down and used his hand to catch it and brush it away. She sighed and the hand that was gripping his shirt dropped and caught the hand that was close to her face. She turned her face into his palm and nuzzling it, placed a gentle kiss on the inside of his wrist.

"Zane," she murmured contentedly, and snuggled closer to him.

His heart skipped at the thought of Jo dreaming about _him_! And a good dream he concluded because there was a smile playing at the edges of her mouth.

He raced his thumb down her tear streaked face until he reached the curve of her lips. He wanted so badly to touch them and hear her say his name again. "JoJo…" he began softly.

"Zane? Zane, are you there?" the screen on the abandoned data-pad lit up; illuminating the room as Carters voice came through. Unwilling to move to pick up the tablet, Zane simply leaned over to see Carters face on the screen.

"Hey Carter," he whispered, and then quickly turned to look at Jo to make sure he hadn't woken her.

"Is she still sleeping," Carter quietly asked.

Zane turned back to the screen. "Yes. I'd rather she not awaken just yet since there's no telling how she'll react. Did you find Henry?"

Carter moved to the side and Henry's face came into view on the screen.

"Zane, Carter said that you told him that you don't feel any different, is that still true?" Henry asked.

"No, I do feel a little different, but I still feel like me." He didn't understand why Henry was asking about him and not Jo.

"Well looking at Dr Kings' notes, I think I now understand why that is." Henry said, whilst scrolling through the data pad in his hand. "I think that Dr Kings was using the distribution of hormones in the body to cause the person to let out all of their bottled up emotions – resulting in them unable to lie through the haze of strong emotions. We believe that the reason that you aren't as affected as Jo is because you tend to speak your mind," he told Zane wryly

"Wait, what, are you trying to say I'm not pleasant?" Zane interrupted. Henry just gave him a knowing look. "Alright, I'll let you have that one," Zane replied, "please, continue."

"As I was saying before; it lets out all the emotions we build up over time, and with Jo, her job demands that she stay calm and controlled under any circumstances, which results in a lot of unexpressed feelings."

"So you're telling me that if she were awake, she could do absolutely anything, even pull out a hidden gun and kill me?" Zane asked.

"Yes, her anger, her fears, everything that she normally is able to contain would be unleashed, which is why-" Henry was interrupted by the sound of sliding doors off-screen "General Mansfield?"

"Would someone like to tell me exactly what's going on here? Mansfield said, his voice booming into the room where Henry and Carter sat. "Where is Lupo? Why isn't she handling the situation?"

Zane scrambled to quickly switch off the Generals blaring voice. He looked back down at Jo and saw that it was too late. Her eyes shot open, and before he could stop her she had rolled away from him and was on her feet in seconds.

"JoJo…" he said trying to remain calm as he stood. She just stared at him, hostile accusation growing in her eyes.

"Stop pretending to be him!" she finally screamed. He wanted to ask her who, but thought it wouldn't be fair of him to do that to her and so he let the subject drop

"JoJo, please sit down," he said as he hesitantly took a step closer.

"Stop! Just stop!" she screeched "Stop blurring the lines. I can't tell you two apart anymore! So just stop it already! Stop hurting me! She was still yelling as she backed into the wall on the opposite side of the lab. Reason flickered in her eyes as she realized that she been in full on retreat mode. "Why can't I stop telling you this she asked, the panic on her face escalating. What's happening to me?"

"You have been exposed to Dr Kings' experiment – its causing your emotions to go haywire, and your brain can't process which thoughts to keep quiet and which ones to voice."

"So, what you're trying to say is that I can't lie?" she asked and took a step forward.

Zane nodded.

"Okay," she said wearily as she placed her hands on her hips and faced him, "let's get this over and done with."

"Get what over and done with?" he asked confused.

"Your questions. Or are you going to stand there and pretend that you don't want to know what's going on anymore?"

"Yes, I want to know what's been going on between us, but I don't want to find out this way. That would be cheating," he told her, a cocky grin spreading across his face.

"Why, Zane, since when did you play by anyone's rules?" she teased. She started to walk forward, then stopped and lifted her hand to her temple and rubbed at it. "My head. Zane, I don't feel very good…"

He walked forward just in time for her weight to fall against his frame. He stumbled to hold both of them up.

"Jo?" he looked down and saw her eyes roll into the back of her head. He gently eased her to the ground, his arms wrapped tightly around her and he felt the short, strong, jolts of pressure against his chest as she started to violently convulse.

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_A/N muhahaha, another cliffhanger - well you will just have to wait and see what happens because i am giving nothing away because i am flying ahead with this story - i've even finished it (in drapt form that is) and i've been a real trooper and started on the next story, so smile - you wont be rid of my crazy stories for long. By the way reviews are really motivating and help make me write faster, so please, please, please, please review x :D _


	6. Honesty

_A/N - Because i got 5 reviews in less than 24 hours, my will crumbled and i decided to post the next chapter - but be warned, if you thought the last chapterhad a cliffhanger, then you will love the end of this one! :D_

_Thanks to those of you that broke my will with your very lovely reviews, and as always thanks to Pchefbeth who has been my beta all the way through, and has agreed to do my next story! :)_

_I still do not own Eureka, but one day... one day it will be mine! all mine! :D_

* * *

CHAPTER SIX – HONESTY

…_his arms wrapped tightly around her and he felt the short, strong, jolts of pressure against his chest as she started to violently convulse._

He knew little medical training, but one thing he did know was that when someone was having a seizure you have to clear the area and lie them down, but her head jerked so hard that he worried that she'd hurt herself, so he quickly grabbed his jacket and laid it under her head _Seizures weren't meant to last this long, were they?_ Her lips turned blue as her body shook He felt helpless as he had to wait it out – there was nothing more he could do, and he _hated_ it. He brushed his hand across her forehead and prayed it would all be over soon. The tremors began to ease, and she finally stilled

"Its going to be ok JoJo, I'm here, its alright, I'm not going anywhere, so stay with me, don't leave me." He murmured foolishly to her "It's going to be okay, you just rest, but first I'm gonna have to turn you on your side to make sure that you can still breathe" He wasn't sure if she was conscious enough to hear him, but he felt the need to talk to her. He gently wrapped his arm around the back of her head to support it whilst his other arm pulled her onto her side, he shifted his make-shift pillow over and placed her head back cheek-side down, and he pushed back the locks of hair that threatened to cover her face.

He leaned over to pick up the data-pad and switched it back on. He just caught General Mansfield passing the screen with Fargo in tow - who was muttering something about not everyone being infected, but he couldn't care less about Mansfield at the moment – it was Jo that mattered.

"Guys?" Zane said trying to get someone's attention. Henry walked on screen.

"Zane, how do you feel now?" Henry asked in an annoyingly, calm voice.

"That doesn't matter right now! Jo just had a seizure!" he was practically yelling in his whispered voice. Henry just turned around and gestured for Alison to come take over before he walked off.

"Zane, I need you to calm down." Alison used a very soothing yet authoritative voice, so he took a deep breath. "Now think, where did the seizure originate from?"

Her head, I think. Her eyes rolled back in her head, and she was complaining that her head hurt before she collapsed. She's still now, but she's not conscious," he said, his voice starting to edge back towards panic, "Please just tell me what to do, I've done the basics, she is in a clear area on her side, but what next? What can I do?"

"I'm afraid that is all you can do for now Zane until we can get to you. Henry is working on a way to counteract Dr Kings' formula, but General Mansfield won't let us come down without a cure, and he is the only one that can cancel the security shutdown. So you are just going to have to wait." She looked over her shoulder at Henry – who had just called her name. "Look, I'm going to have to go and help Henry, just keep doing what you're doing and keep her calm." With that she switched off the screen.

Zane shuffled back over to Jo, just in time to see her eyes open. Relief washed over him immediately

"Hey there, sleepy-head. You just had a seizure." He said whilst tucking a hair back behind her ear. She looked at him wistfully as her pale pink lips formed a smile.

"I think I should tell you…" she began, her voice hoarse.

"That can wait until you are more yourself," he replied as he began to stroke her cheek

"No, It can't. I'm telling you and that's that! Didn't you say earlier that you shut off the security feed from this room?" There was force in her words as she spoke them.

"Yes, no-one can hear us but you don't need to waste your breath – I already have a pretty good idea what's going on." She simply gave him a challenging look. "Well I know you are different – you act as though you've lived a different life, so figured that maybe it's because you _have_ lived a different life; which is physically impossible, but it's the only answer I could come up with based on the evidence." He saw that she was going to interrupt him, so he pressed on, smoothing his hand over her upper arm as he did so, "The only way I could explain that though, is that somehow you five altered the timeline; it took me a while to get to that conclusion though because it breaks the rules of physics, and you know me and physics… Anyway I digress, you managed to do it somehow using Einstein's bridge device, because that was out on show on founders day – which is when you came into Carters office and…" he trailed off at the end, he knew nothing else need to be said.

"Yes. We got sent back to 1947; Henry managed to recalibrate the devices only we had an additional traveler that we hadn't been counting on …"

"Dr. Old spice? I knew there was something fishy about him. So Charles Grant is really Trevor Grant – the one who disappeared with five other mysterious prisoners in 1947?" he felt kind of smug at the idea of his enforcer being a felon herself – even if it was 63 years ago.

"They would be us, yes." She started to try to sit up, and he attempted to push her back down to the floor, but she pushed him away with enough force that he figured that she was strong enough to sit up.

"So that meant that when you came back things were different? What changed?"

"In the old timeline Henry wasn't married to Grace, Carter had already broken up with Tess, Alison was head of GD, Fargo was her assistant, Kevin was autistic, and I was still Carters deputy."

"That much changed?" he asked in disbelief

"Yeah, Grant was a famous scientist in the old timeline, and when such a large piece of history got removed…" she trailed off helplessly

"What about us?" he asked, even though he already knew the answer to his question before he even voiced it, he had known for a while now, he just needed her to admit their relationship; to admit it and make it real…

"We… we were together for nearly three years…" she replied and looked down, unable to meet his questioning gaze.

As absurd as it was, he was a little jealous of himself for having had Jo for so long.

"What was I like, the other me?" he asked, unable tot stop the questions that escaped his thoughts.

"It's hard to say, you are both the same person, have the same personality, but you…" he could tell she was struggling to find the words to explain "In this timeline we weren't together, so although you are the same person, you developed a little differently, lived a different life, were given different options - the things that shaped you into who you are… like I said it's hard to explain…"

He placed a hand on hers and she turned it around and weaved her fingers through his.

"Thank you for telling me." He said quietly. Her hands were shaking, but then again, so were his.

"I'm tired," she said.

"I should imagine so, between the seizure and all that stuff you've been letting pent up for so long, you really should rest." He said as he tried to nudge her back down to lie on the floor, but as he suspected she resisted

"You were exposed too," she accused.

"Yes, but I'm not as affected as much as you are."

"But, why is that?"

He sighed as he tried to figure out how to explain

"Henry has a theory about that, he thinks that this chemical is acting on unexpressed emotions."

"Well that explains why you are being so nice."

"Why does everyone keep saying that – it's deflating my ego," he asked mockingly, and was glad to see a smile spread across her face "Will you please lie down now and go to sleep." Surprisingly she did as he asked, laying down on her side, using his jacket as a make-shift pillow, and closed her eyes.

He leaned over picking up the data-pad just as Alison switched the camera back on. He stood up and walked over to the other side of the room to ensure he did not disturb Jo.

"Zane," Alison said greeting him warmly "How is Jo doing?"

"She came-to before and we had a little chat-" he hinted, and Alison seemed to understand the meaning in his words "-I convinced her to lie down and try to get some sleep because she's so exhausted."

"Is she asleep yet," she asked.

Something in her voice made him aware that she was getting at something, but her expression gave nothing away. He looked back over at Jo to see that she was curled up on her side, and she was very lightly snoring.

"Yeah I think so," he answered cautiously.

"Good, because I can't risk her hearing what I say next." She paused and took a breath "We have been monitoring the feed from Dr Kings' lab; it appears that she has died."

His mind went blank, but apparently that wasn't the worst of the news because Alison continued. "Based on the symptoms we observed, we are afraid that Jo doesn't have long before the elevated levels of hormones in her system cause her lungs to fail."

Zane's mind whirled at the thought of Jo dying, but Alison's next words caused his heart to freeze in his chest. "In order to prevent this, we need her body to redistribute the hormones that her brain is creating, and the best way that to do that is for you to stop her heart. Zane, we need you to kill Jo…"

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_A/N - dun dun duuuuun, bet you cant wait to read his read the next chapter, but you will have to be a little patient because i have to type it up yet, and then send it off to be edited, but i will try amd be quik for you, I promise :D_


	7. Dream

_A/N - Here is the next chapter, woohoo, so please enjoy! i have got the next chapter up and ready to go, but i am not going to post it until Thursday after I have had all my exams so I revise instead of work on my stories, after that I am free to write when I want, yay!_

_Thanks to Pchefbeth once agian, and thanks to all you reviewers who make my day!_

_I really do wish I owned Eureka, but sadly that isn't the case - I just have their characters camping up there in my head, they tell me what to write..._

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CHAPTER SEVEN – DREAM

"_Zane, we need you to kill Jo…"_

"What!" he couldn't believe what he was hearing "You want me to kill her? No! I won't do it! Allison, you can't be serious! I'm not going to hurt her! No!" he babbled. The sheer idea of his own involvement of the stopping of her heart was… unbearable…

"Zane, it's the only way that we can stop her brain from causing an overload of hormones. It's the only way she could live. I know exactly how much I am asking, but this is Jo, and it's her life on the line here. I wouldn't ask this if I thought that we could get there on time, but there is no guarantee that we will be able to make and administer the remedy to counteract the hormones already in her system before her lungs give way," she replied.

"Wait, so do you know how to fix this then," he asked, his hope building.

"Yes, but the process in creating it is a little tricky, and like I said, General Mansfield won't risk anyone else getting infected, we have to administer the treatment to ourselves before he will give us access to the area to help you."

"Is he aware that Jo is down here and that she might…" his words trailed at the end, he just refused to let the thoughts even enter his mind.

"Yes he is aware, but he believes that the security risk is too high to risk that anyone else get exposed."

"But can't you just make enough for her…" he rambled; he knew it was no use, the cards had already been dealt, and he just had to work with them.

"Zane, if you don't do this then she will die" her expression softened when she saw the hurt on his face from the mention of her words, "Look, she has about an hour, if we haven't got to you in 45 minutes, then you will have to go through with this."

"How would…" he asked deflated; words escaping him once more.

"Something that would just cause the heart to stop without additional damage. Electric shock would probably be best." She answered softly in understanding.

"Even if I do, I might not be able to restart her heart…" his words trailed off as his eyes rested on Jo's sleeping form. A world without Jo was one thing, but if he caused it … His eyes returned to the data-pad in his hand "Just make sure you have the cure in time."

"I'll have to leave you then, I might be able to help speed things up." And with that she signed off.

Zane stared at the blank screen in his hands, his head whirling with images. He lifted his arm to throw the data-pad across the room, but though better of it when he realised that doing so would wake a peacefully sleeping Jo, so instead he walked over to his desk and placed it face down. Pulling out his phone he set an alarm to go off in 45 minutes, before he lay down beside Jo. Wrapping his arms around her she unconsciously responded by nuzzling into his shoulder. Tenderly he ran his hand through her hair and drifted off to welcoming sleep…

_Waking in a dark and unknown room, he turned to the other side of the bed, and was mildly shocked to see the pillow and ruffled yet empty sheets next to him. Hearing the shrieking noise that had woken him from his slumber him he clambered out of the warm bed and followed the noise out of the room. Walking into the now long hallways that were of GD he followed the peculiar sound that was ahead. The eerie bright lights above flickered off behind him every time he took a step further through the empty hallways. The darkness seemed to be coming closer and closer and he found himself trying to run from it, faster towards the noise that seemed to be calling to him. _

_Mid-stride he realised that he was walking bare-foot on shards of glass, heated by the flames below. The pain on the soles of his feet was immediate, and caused him to falter in his step before stopping to examine the damage. The darkness raced ahead of him and down the long corridors, leaving him with only the glow from the flames that had begun to climb the walls. Looking down at the soles of his feet he saw no marks, and when he looked up he saw Jo further up ahead. She was in her deputy uniform and she wore an expressionless look on her face, before she turned and began to walk away. _

'_JoJo,' he tried to yell out, but no sound escaped his lips. So he followed her, ignoring the pain in his feet. She turned a corner, and running to catch up he turned the same corner and walked straight into his lab. The lights were flashing red, and the room had been trashed and he could hear the shrieking noise, yet he was alone. _

'_JoJo,' he tried to soundlessly call out once more as he examined the room and saw a door he did not recognise at the end of the room. He walked toward it and placed his hand on the door knob, he somehow just knew that the noise he could hear was originating from behind the door. He took a deep breath before he turned the handle and swung the door open. The shrieking stopped. Behind the door was a small, pink bedroom. There were no windows, and no lights except for the pink lamp that stood on the table beside the small, pink bed. The room would have been normal if it weren't for the ashes that fell like snow from above; each piece floating at a leisurely pace to join the rest that covered the once pink carpet._

"_Daddy?" he heard someone sob. Turning around he saw a young girl, around seven years of age, black wavy hair ran past her shoulders and down her back. She wore a small white sundress that swayed as she rubbed at her closed, red-rimmed eyes. He knelt down to get a better look at her. She took a step back and started shrieking in her sobs again._

"_Shhh" he soothed "I won't hurt you." He tried to place a reassuring hand on her arm, but she snatched it away and took another step back. Her hands now at her sides she stared at him with accusation in her piercing blue eyes that he recognised in an instant. He stood up and analysed the young girl with curiosity before she finally spoke up._

"_You told that same lie to mummy!" she shrieked, and pointed her finger across the room behind him. Reluctantly he turned and saw Jo lying on the floor. A knife protruding from her heart, blood pooled around her and mixed with the ashes on the floor. He heard the girl as she started to cry once more and protectively he turned and picked her up to shield her from the sight. He cradled her in his arms as she buried her face under his chin as she continued to sob. Silent tears fell from his own eyes onto the young girl's hair. He stared at Jo unable to move his eyes from the sight, suddenly her hand twitched…_

His mind came crashing back down to reality when he heard the beeping coming from his phone. _Damn it_! Jo stirred in her sleep but did not wake. Turning off the alarm he turned back to watch her sleeping form, he admiring her obvious beauty as she continued to slumber. His face grim, he rolled away from her and sat up. Pulling out his phone, he removed the back and pulled out several components, rewiring it so that one of the wires was left loose. Just as he finished Jo awoke and sat up.

"What are you doing," she asked groggily.

Zane placed the modified phone down at his side, and leaning over her he said, "This" captured her lips with his.

She simultaneously shifted towards him and wrapping her arms around his neck, she pulled him closer. He pried her willing lips apart using his own and her hot breath mingled with his. He put all of his pent up emotions that he held for her in that one kiss, and showed her just ho mush he truly needed her, both emotionally and physically. Their tongues twisted around one another. Each with their own expert skills made the other moan in pleasure and satisfaction. Her cold hands sent shivers up his spine when her hand ran up the back of his t-shirt. He pushed her down so that she was lying on her back. In punishment she ran her nails along his back and he groaned her name aloud. His lips left hers, but only so he could place kisses along her collar bone as he unbuttoned the top of her shirt to reveal a small piece of her black lace bra.

She moaned his name, "Are you trying to kill me," she asked sarcastically. That hit a nerve and he stopped. She looked up at him questioningly and was clearly displeased that he had stopped.

"Actually, yes," he answered truthfully, and before she could comment he reached down to his side and picked up his altered phone, switched it on and placed the open wire on the now-bare skin above her heart.

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_A/N - oooo pretty please review, I really love your reviews, they really do make my day!_


	8. Heartbeat

A/N Yay! It's Thursday, I have now finished my exams! As promised for today this is the 8th chapter!

Thanks to you reviewers - you made my day many times, and thanks to Pchefbeth who is the beta for this story!

Oh, how I long to own Eureka - even if it is just the 'E' in the name, but I unfortunately do not have that privilege...

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CHAPTER EIGHT – HEARTBEAT

… _he reached down to his side and picked up his altered phone, switched it on and placed the open wire on the now-bare skin above her heart._

Everything happened in the flash of a heartbeat.

Her body gave a quick jerk, and the steady rise and fall of her chest ceased as her breathing stopped. He touched the side of her neck, looking for a pulse and finding none immediately pinched her nose, covered her mouth with his own and forced air into her lungs. He fisted his hands in the way he had learned, and placing them over her ribcage began to rhythmically push – forcing her still heart to sluggishly beat again and again. He paused, brought his ear to her mouth and listened for breathing. Nothing. Pressed his fingers to her throat searching for a pulse. Nothing. As time passed he repeated these steps over and over with the same result; nothing.

He was so absorbed in what he was doing that he didn't even notice when the lights flickered on and people began to fill the room. He just kept following the pulsing rhythm as he forced her to breathe and her heart to beat. One, two, three, four. Fill her lings with air, force her heart to beat, check to see if she is breathing, check her pulse, nothing, start again. He kept going ignoring the sounds around him until he felt hands trying to pull him away from her, ignoring them when they told him it was too late…

He just kept going and going. He wasn't about to stop, he wasn't going to give in. He didn't know how long he had been doing this for, but he just kept going. His arms were aching, his breathing shallow, but he just kept going.

He checked her breathing; nothing, he checked her pulse; nothing. When someone would try to pull him off he simply pushed them back and continued.

One, two, three, four, one, two, three, four, one, two – someone got him in the arm with a needle, and he immediately felt drowsy – his weak efforts continued, but his rhythm slowed down until the blackness finally drew him in as he was pulled away.

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A/N I know it's a little short but I will write up the next chapter soon, but for the rest of this evening I am going to get some much needed sleep! Just so you know the next chapter is the last, and it may be a while before I get the sequel up to the standard i want it. And pretty, please, with cherries on top, review.


	9. Echo

_A/N – I know, it's been ages since I updated this, but this is the final chapter of this story. But if you have read this story, but can't remember, then, I suggest you go back and scan over it so that you have a better idea as to what has gone on._

_I love Eureka, and I own it in my dreams – unfortunately I don't in reality, but if I did, do you really think I would be so cruel to make you all wait till June? :) _

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CHAPTER NINE – ECHO

… _someone got him in the arm with a needle, and he immediately felt drowsy – his weak efforts continued, but his rhythm slowed down until the blackness finally drew him in as he was pulled away._

He woke to the quiet sound of beeping, and as his eyes opened and the bright lights streamed in, it caused him to squeeze his eyes closed once again. He rubbed at them, trying to block out any light that was seeping through. Slower this time, he reluctantly opened his eyelids allowing his blue eyes to squint for a little while as he adjusted to his surroundings. He was in a small cubical created by the patterned, turquoise curtain that cut him off from the rest of the medical bay. He closed his eyes as images flashed through his mind as he remembered the events that led to him being there.

He had killed her.

"JoJo…" he mumbled as he bent his head in sorrow.

She was gone.

Gone forever. Her whole future disappeared, because of him. She will never aim her gun at him again. They will never have another argument. They will never go on a first date together, and he will never bring her a red rose. They will never share another kiss. And he will never have the opportunity to tell her that he loved her…

Loved…

He admitted it; he had finally admitted to himself how he truly felt about her. All these years he had loved her but he couldn't even let himself consider ever even thinking the word. Yet now, thinking it, feeling it, knowing it, it felt right, he should love her, he is meant to love her, and he is supposed to love her. But it was too late…

A silent, lone tear slipped from the corner of his eye as it made its way down his left cheek. He felt like he had died inside. He felt hollow. Numb. If only he'd waited until the rescue crew had gotten there, and then maybe, maybe he wouldn't have murdered the woman he loved…

As he was sitting there grieving, a nurse with short, fiery-red hair whipped back the curtain and walked in. Through the haze of emotionless self-hatred and loss, he didn't really see her, didn't truly feel her touch when she took his arm to take blood, or hear her words when she spoke kindly about how well he was recovering.

"Mr Donovan, you were very brave down there, keeping a level head when everyone else was panicking. From what I hear; you were more in-control than Miss Lupo," she chatted on as she gently slid the needle into his arm.

His entire body tensed when she mentioned her name, but she just continued to babble on.

"Yeah, very brave, especially giving her an electric shock to kill her to try and save her life! I don't think anyone else would do it, not at risk of being shot. She sure is feisty that one, and downright dangerous too when she wants to be. I know for a fact that I would chicken out if I were in your shoes. Heck, I don't even want to be in this building when she wakes up."

His head snapped around to face her.

"Pardon?" he asked; his face still grim but hope now building in his voice.

"No-one told you?" she asked in disbelief. The expression he gave her prompted her to continue. "I'm sorry, I thought you knew! You thought you killed her didn't you? Well she is doing just fine, you managed to revive her when you were down there before they took you away, you must have blacked out just before anyone had a chance to tell you. I'm so sorry that you didn't know sooner. You must have been so worried. Look I'll take your blood down for testing, and then I'll speak to Dr. Blake about taking you down later to visit Miss Lupo for a little while," she said as she stood up – blood-filled, glass vial in hand –and left in a hurry, forgetting to close the curtain back over.

Zane gave a half smirk as he saw that the duty station wasn't occupied. There was no 'maybe', 'later' or 'little while' about it; he was going to see her, right now. He couldn't believe it, not fully until he saw her with his own eyes.

He sat up and pivoted around so that his legs were dangling off the edge of the bed, tore off the metal disks from his temples, and the machine complained immediately with wild beeping. As he jumped off the bed he stumbled a little and his head whirled. He felt stiff and drowsy from having slept so long, but that wasn't going to stop him. A cold breeze bit at the bare skin of his back and he realised was only wearing a hospital gown – open back. He turned and looked in the drawers next to the bed but found nothing.

"Where are pants when you need them?" he absently asked himself. Looking around; he spotted a medical cart ahead. He snuck over to it and found that he was in luck; there was a stack of new blue scrubs to one side of the cart. He grabbed a pair and went back to his cubicle to change.

A few minutes later he pulled back the curtain, only to find himself face to face with Dr. Blake who stood in front of his cube, arms crossed with a vaguely disappointed frown, yet her eyes gave away the fact that she was also amused.

"Dr. Blake," he commented in a deflated tone, annoyed now that he had been caught executing his 'Great Escape'.

"My pager just went off; telling me that my equipment no longer detected a heartbeat; indicating that you had gone into Sudden Cardiac Arrest," she informed him, trying to sound moderately annoyed.

He gave a sheepish shrug, more annoyed at having been caught than any actual wrong doing.

She turned and began to walk away, waving her hand to him, gesturing for him to follow, and he did, struggling to keep pace with her. "After how you acted yesterday afternoon, I should have known that you would try and go straight to her." She led him to outside a cubicle closed off by a curtain and paused with her fingers wrapped around the hem. "Be forewarned, we've been easing her out of a medically induced coma. She's still sleeping, but she could wake up at any moment now, and I don't think she will be too happy when she remembers what happened."

Zane just nodded in impatience, and she pushed back the heavy material in her hand to revel a peacefully sleeping Jo. He stepped inside and sat down on the chair next to her. He wrapped his hands around one of hers and was glad to feel its warmth. He had almost forgotten Alison's presence until she spoke up again.

"Henry managed to counteract Dr Kings' formula just in time. The rescue team were given an antidote before going down. It was also distributed to everyone in section four, including you and Jo. You two were the worst affected – probably because you're lab was next to Dr Kings', luckily there was no one else even close to her lab," she stopped but continued to watch him cautiously "It takes a while for your hormones to completely balance out, so you may still feel dizzy, a little cold and you may not feel completely like your old self yet." She stood beside him, watching with a worried expression on her face; clearly he wasn't schooling his features as well as he thought he had because she figured out his train of thought in seconds. "Zane, you have to know that we wouldn't have gotten there on time to give her the antidote before her lungs gave way. You saved her life."

"It doesn't feel like it," he muttered under his breath as he turned around to face Jo once more, but she still heard it, yet she knew to back off and let it drop.

"I'm going to give you two some space," he heard her say over his shoulder, and then the sound of the curtain closing behind her as she left.

His eyes never left Jo. Her hair was still loose around her shoulders and he smiled a little at the memory as to how he was responsible for that. He brought her still hand to his face and kissed it gently and kept it there whilst he listened to the machine that echoed her beating heart.

Time was lost as he sat there waiting patiently. Nurses came in and out to check on Jo. Every now and then the rhythmic beeping of her heart would cause him to drift off for a short while, but he kept waking up to her sleeping face. He didn't dare move.

As night fell he was still sat there in the chair beside her bed with her hand wrapped in his, he drifted off once more, but was woken by the movement of her hand and her croaky voice.

"Zane?"

His head shot up and his eyes immediately connected with hers.

"Would you like some water?" he asked "You sound like you have a dry throat." He was trying to be as helpful as he could to her whilst she was in this vulnerable state - never in his wildest dreams would he have thought he would associate the word vulnerable with Jo.

She nodded, so he let go of her hand and walked to the foot of her bed and poured her a drink with the jug of water and the glass that had been kindly placed earlier by one of the nurses in preparation. He walked back over to Jo and handed her the glass as he sat back down, she shifted to sit up better even though she was already propped up with God knows how many pillows. She took a few sips before she handed the glass back to him. He placed it on the bedside table and then turned to face her.

"You electrocuted me!" she accused, her voice was fierce but it did not meet her eyes. "I will get my revenge." she mocked.

"How about you do it after our date." he teased and was rewarded by the shock in her eyes.

"What makes you think I'll agree to this?" she asked.

"The fact that you were dreaming about me when we were down there," he counteracted.

"How do you know it wasn't a nightmare?" she challenged.

"Trust me, it was a good dream" he replied smug. She didn't respond and he knew he had won this fight. "So the sooner you get better, the sooner we can have our date. Just imagine the looks on people's faces when they see us together." He watched as a smile grew across her face and he leaned over and cupped her cheek and watched as a deep-pink blush coloured her cheeks.

Cater walked in - as usual, interrupting their moment. Zane slid his hand back down into his lap.

"Hey you're awake," He said as he smiled at Jo and then turned to Zane. "Alison asked me to bring these down to you, she had to clean them using some sort of sonic cleaning thingy - but she said you might want them back," he said whilst handing a pile of clothing to Zane. "I'm gonna leave you two lovebirds alone now," he continued with a knowing smile - looking between Zane and Jo, as he left.

After the embarrassment to the 'love-birds' comment wore off, Zane rummaged through his jeans' pockets from the pile of clothes in his hands, before he finally managed to grasp the solid object he was looking for. He pulled out the ring and placed it in Jo's open palm.

"It belongs with you," he stated. She opened her mouth to speak, and he could tell she was about to protest, so he stopped her before she could "I already gave this to you and I don't want to hear anything else about it." He watched as she shut her mouth and closed her hand around the small object.

"Thank you," was all she said.

"Now about this date..."

* * *

_A/N – Yay, happy ending… for now – as this story continues in _ (not yet decided on a title yet – I haven't event finished writing it so, you know what they say; patience is a virtue)_

_And please in the meantime review because you love my story soooo very much :)  
_

_Even if you read it all in one go, or as I went along – Thank you all so VERY VERY MUCH for all your support! X_

_And a MASSIVE THANKS to PCHEFBETH for helping make this story such a success, and for making me a better writer as a whole! X_

_X THANK YOU X THANK YOU X THANK YOU X THANK YOU X_


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